This article is inspired by Terri O’Fallon’s STAGES model of adult development and draws from Robert Kegan‘s theory of adult maturity. In particular, it explores how Kegan’s Levels 4, 5, and the theoretical Level 6 relate to the journey toward the MetAware mind in O’Fallon’s model.
Many adults live with a well-defined sense of self. They take responsibility, work hard, and live by a personal code. These traits reflect what Kegan calls the Self-Authoring mind, or Level 4. In O’Fallon’s STAGES model, this aligns with the Subtle Tier. People at this stage create systems to manage life and make meaning. They trust their thinking and values. They often believe they are in control of their story.
But some begin to feel the limits of this identity. They realize their beliefs are shaped by culture, history, and personal experience. They start to see the self as a construction. These individuals are moving into Kegan’s Level 5, the Self-Transforming mind, or what O’Fallon describes as the MetAware Tier. At this stage, people no longer identify as strongly with their roles or ideologies. Instead, they become curious about how meaning itself is formed.
A few rare individuals may even approach what some call Level 6. Kegan never formally defined this stage, but others imagine it reflects a deep spiritual awareness—where identity dissolves into something larger and more universal. In O’Fallon’s language, this corresponds with stages like Construct-Aware, Transpersonal, or Unity. These states often reflect qualities in teachings like Thich Nhat Hanh’s writings on Buddhist enlightenment.
The shift from the Subtle Tier to the MetAware Tier is profound. It’s not about gaining knowledge but transforming how we hold knowledge. Here are five actions that support this growth in maturity.
1. Practice Witnessing the Self
The first step toward the MetAware mind is learning to observe the self. Most people are fully identified with their thoughts and emotions. They believe their inner voice is who they are. But there is a deeper part of the mind—the observer—that can watch those thoughts without getting caught in them.
Practices like meditation help develop this witnessing capacity. A person can sit quietly and focus on their breath. As thoughts arise, they watch them come and go. Over time, this builds the ability to see thoughts and emotions as events, not truths.
This ability to observe one’s inner world is key to moving from Kegan’s Level 4 to Level 5. At Level 5, people begin to treat their meaning-making systems as objects they can examine. O’Fallon describes this as the beginning of MetAware consciousness—where a person sees the patterns shaping them without being stuck in them.
2. Study Construct Awareness
Beliefs don’t form in a vacuum. Every person inherits ideas from family, school, media, and culture. These ideas shape how they see the world and themselves. Constructing awareness means becoming conscious of how those beliefs were formed.
One can explore this by reading about adult development or engaging in reflective writing. Asking questions like “Where did I learn this belief?” or “Whose voice is this in my head?” can reveal the hidden architecture of the self.
Learning from developmental theorists like O’Fallon or Kegan can also help. These frameworks provide language and tools for seeing the self more clearly. As a person begins to notice their inner constructs, they become less attached to them—and more open to other ways of seeing.
3. Learn to Hold Paradox
At the Subtle Tier, people often seek certainty. They want clear answers and firm beliefs. But the MetAware mind learns to live with paradox. It holds space for ambiguity, complexity, and contradictions.
Someone might begin to notice that two opposing ideas can both hold truth. For example, they may be both confident and uncertain, strong and vulnerable, leading and following—all at once. Instead of trying to resolve these tensions, they learn to sit with them.
This can be practiced through mindfulness, creative arts, or dream work. These forms help people stay present with mystery. O’Fallon says people at the MetAware Tier can move fluidly between perspectives. They no longer need one fixed frame of meaning. This flexibility is what allows them to hold complexity with grace.
4. Take Different Perspectives
Seeing from multiple viewpoints is essential for growing into Tier 3. Most people look at the world through a narrow lens shaped by personal experience. Expanding that view requires curiosity and empathy.
One way to do this is to engage with different cultures, beliefs, and opinions. Reading widely, listening to diverse voices, and conversing with people who think differently can challenge one’s assumptions.
Reflective practices like journaling can also help. Writing from another person’s point of view—even if that person is difficult—can shift the inner dialogue. It stretches the imagination and softens the ego.
Kegan described Level 5 as the capacity to hold multiple systems and perspectives at once. O’Fallon builds on this, saying the MetAware mind can easily switch between lenses. Developing this capacity begins with a willingness to see through more than one set of eyes.
5. Use Transformative Practices
Lasting transformation often happens through experience, not logic. Practices that shift identity and open awareness can create the conditions for growth into the MetAware mind.
These might include breathwork, somatic therapy, deep reflection, sacred rituals, or even plant medicine in legal and supportive settings. The purpose of these practices is not to escape the self, but to see through it.
When a person enters a state where they feel less separate—more connected to life, to others, or to something greater—they begin to taste the qualities of Tier 3. These experiences are often hard to describe, but they change how a person sees the world.
O’Fallon notes that the later stages of development bring more presence, compassion, and stillness. The MetAware mind does not reject thinking, but it no longer sees thought as the only path to truth. It values being just as much as doing.
Final Thoughts
The journey to the MetAware mind is not linear. It unfolds in cycles, with moments of insight followed by periods of confusion or retreat. Growth requires humility, patience, and courage.
Each of these five actions—witnessing the self, studying constructs, holding paradox, expanding perspectives, and engaging in transformation—helps loosen the grip of the ego. They prepare the ground for a deeper way of knowing.
This path is not just for mystics or monks. It is for leaders, teachers, creators, and seekers. It is for anyone who wants to meet the world with more openness, wisdom, and care.
To begin, a person doesn’t need to change everything. They only need to pause and ask, “Who is watching this thought?” That question opens the door to something deeper. And from that place, the journey begins.